Generally, what percentage of customers submit support requests?

Envato Authors CodeCanyon
#1

I am in the process of developing a plugin and, assuming things go well, I will begin to generate sales. Let us also assume I’ve done a good job and it’s not a buggy mess.

I am trying to determine the amount of time that might be required for post-sales support, and whether it is realistic to assume I can continue to spend a large degree of time further developing/marketing my plugin.

Anybody with experience in this care to chip in?

#2

The answer is based on many different factors. f you have a good, detailed documentation and quality code I’d say the percentage of support requests would be at 20-30%

#3

Depends on the quality of the documentation. I get less than 5% to 10%. Cheers! :slight_smile:

#4

Having had more than 15,000 customers now, I would say that my percentage is also somewhere around 10%, but I am not sure about the quality of the documentation, as I find that many customers don’t read it at all, before asking questions.

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#5

That happens to me as well, and I always reply and help them out and mention that the documentation covers all the aspects they need. It depends, honestly. Indeed, some customers don’t read it, some customers are excited to see a documentation that provides high quality. But I agree, it depends.

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#6

Thanks! Appreciate the responses.

#7

I notice it differs a lot on what kind of product you’re selling.

  • JavaScript plugin like Soon. 10 to 20%. Install > Some configuration required > Ready!

  • The WordPress version of Soon, not so much, maybe 5%. Mostly I guess because it’s a simple installation > Ready!

  • JavaScript / PHP crossover plugin like Slim, easily 20% to 30%. Lot’s of configuration issues due to various server setups. It’s not an install > go scenario. As installation in this case requires integrating with own code more issues/questions tend to surface.

Improve your documentation and FAQ based on questions you receive, plus add common answers to README are nice ways to lower the amount of support mails you get.

Do keep in mind that support is also I nice way to get into contact with your customers and get to know about the features they really need which you can then use to improve your product further.

I’d say I spent around 3 to 4 hours spent each week on support.